By Mandy McFarland Editor
NAPPANEE — "What can we do to help?" was the question repeated several times at last week's Wa-Nee school board meeting.
The topic of discussion was once again teacher salaries and program cuts, and those gathered in the NorthWood High School auditorium, where the meeting took place, were more than willing to share their thoughts and ideas.
"What can we as a community do to help the cash flow problem," community member Joanna Guckenberger said.
Kay Kelley, Nappanee Elementary School T-1 teacher, agreed.

"We have got to start thinking outside the box to save our programs," she said. "I'm just throwing (ideas) out because I think we're in desperate times with this corporation and I'm just real sad about it."
Wa-Nee teacher Hope Martin was willing to take a year off from attending teachers' conferences.
"If I have to do that in order to save a friend's job, I'm happy to do that," she said.
 Sabo said attending fewer conferences could save the school system approximately $100,000 for one year. This, he said, is an idea the administration has discussed before, and may be willing to try.
"It's never too late to start something like that," he said.
Before the meeting, Sabo made a presentation to clarify recent issues with the corporation's general fund and why they have discussed program cuts.
He explained that while plans to remove programs are not definite at this time, by law the board was required to warn teachers by May 1 of the potential cuts. Thirteen in all were notified.
"This year we made a decision that we were going to have to overreact with the RIF notices," Sabo said.
In years past, the school's expenses have been less than what they receive. However, beginning in 2005 the corporation began overspending its budget. This was partially due to the fact that they did not receive any tax money from the state in 2004, Sabo said.
At the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, the number of students attending Wa-Nee dropped by 48. Throughout the school year, the corporation lost another 58, bringing the total up to 106. Because of this, the state has cut the amount of money Wa-Nee schools are receiving, until enrollment increases again.
"We've never seen this before," Sabo said. "We have always been a growing school corporation. We have grown year after year after year."
Other things like an increase in health insurance have taken a toll on the corporation's general fund.
In addition, the corporation does not yet have an approved budget for 2008.
Wa-Nee has taken several steps already to preserve the cash balance in the general fund. Perhaps the most controversial was reducing a number of positions in the Wa-Nee district. Sabo explained that this was by attrition, meaning that when the individuals filling those positions retired or moved, those positions were simply not refilled.
Other steps have included joining a special education cooperative, which helps cover the cost of various special education services. They also joined a consortium to purchase natural gas at a discount. They belong to a purchasing cooperative, which helps save money on purchasing.
The next meeting will take place at 6:30 Monday, May 26 at the NorthWood High School auditorium. Teachers and members of the public are invited.